Gov’s Council confirms Dupuis as Superior Court judge

The Governor’s Council today confirmed the appointments of Renee P. Dupuis and Raymond P. Veary as Superior Court judges.

The confirmation follows a heated hearing the prior week that involved Cambridge defense lawyer Kevin J. Mahoney accusing Dupuis of withholding exculpatory evidence during a 1992 murder trial, which resulted in a conviction that was later overturned.

Dupuis called the allegations “slanderous” and “completely false.”

Councilors Marilyn M. Petitto Devaney and Mary-Ellen Manning cast the only votes against Dupuis’ appointment, which Devaney called a politically motivated “thank-you gift.”

The council unanimously approved Veary’s appointment to the Superior Court.

Meanwhile, the council postponed a vote for a week on the appointment of Kevin J. Finnerty for a circuit judgeship in District Court after Manning indicated that all available circuit seats had already been filled.

The council also confirmed the appointment of John O’Neil as clerk magistrate of Fall River District Court, with Devaney and Manning again casting the only votes in opposition.

“This appointment is a travesty of justice,” Devaney said.

Devaney said David Cassidy, who has spent about 26 years as a clerk in Fall River and has been acting clerk magistrate, was the better candidate. She alleged that Cassidy was passed over for O’Neil, who has no working experience as a clerk, for political reasons.

The council is slated to vote Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. on the nomination of Appeals Court Judge Fernande R.V. Duffly to be the next justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. If confirmed by the council, Duffly will be the court’s first Asian-American justice.